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If home is where the heart is, mine is scattered in a million little pieces around the globe. Washington state, where I was born; my childhood home of New Jersey; and my adult home, and the birthplace of CMD, in San Francisco. Each of these places has carved out a spot in my heart and will always bring that deep sigh of, "Ah, I'm back."
Another place that evokes that feeling? Virginia Tech, my alma mater. VT holds a special place in my family's story, too. Two of my three siblings are also alumni, and my brother graduated from the industrial design program a year ahead of me.
I began my freshman year in foundation courses alongside structural and landscape architects, industrial designers and urban planners. Although I originally studied architecture, I found myself drawn closer and closer to industrial design. Thinking in terms of scale, I loved the idea of creating things I could actually hold in my hand, though a beautifully crafted building still has my heart.
After officially switching my major to industrial design, I dove headfirst into the program and graduated with honors in four years, shaving a year off the traditional timeline. At the time, I didn't know that jewelry design was where I'd eventually land. Looking back now, though, the connection between designing objects you can hold in your hand and the work I've spent my career doing feels pretty clear.
Virginia Tech taught me how to think about form, proportion, materials and the relationship between an object and the person using it. Jewelry would eventually become my medium, and Colleen Mauer Designs would grow from there, but that instinct to create something functional, tactile and beautifully designed started long before CMD officially launched.
It's funny to look backward and recognize the pieces of your life that were quietly pointing you somewhere before you knew where you were going. My path from architecture to industrial design and eventually to jewelry wasn't exactly something I mapped out in advance, but each part of it led naturally into the next.
This past week, I was fortunate enough to travel back to Virginia Tech and spend time with my 13 (yes, 13!) closest college friends in honor of our 15-year graduation anniversary. Being back at VT after all these years was refreshing, exciting and nostalgic, and it made me incredibly thankful for such wonderful lifelong friendships.
To sum it up, it was absolutely one of the best weekends of my entire life. There are certain places that stop feeling like somewhere you used to live and simply become another version of home. Virginia Tech will always be one of those places for me.
What places do you always consider home, even if it's been a long time since you've lived there? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.
xo,
Colleen
© Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.
Published: June 16, 2016
Updated: August 13, 2026
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